Nuremberg: Canada’s Australian Open semi-finalist Eugenie Bouchard (top) won her first WTA tour title yesterday when she beat Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the Nuremberg final.
The 20-year-old Bouchard shot to fame in January when she became only the second Canadian to reach a Grand Slam semi-final and then broke into the WTA’s top 20. Leading 4-2 in the second set, Bouchard was heading for a straight-set victory, before Pliskova reeled off four games in a row to take the second set, but the Canadian second-seed regrouped in the third to take the final in just under two hours.
Bouchard picks up the winner’s check of US$250,000 for the clay-court tournament to give herself a timely boost before next week’s French Open. Czech Pliskova had already accounted for top seed Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals and eliminated fourth seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals, while Bouchard had not dropped a set en route to the final.
Kohlschreiber buoyed by Duesseldorf title
Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber says he will take plenty of confidence into the French Open after claiming the clay-court ATP Duesseldorf title in yesterday’s final. The 30-year-old top-seed cruised to a 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic, 35, to claim the fifth title of his career and his fourth in Germany.
Kohlschreiber, ranked 29th in the world, needed just 72 minutes to claim victory against the giant Croat, who is 6ft 11in (2.11m) tall, having won on clay at Munich in 2007 and 2012 and on grass at Halle in 2011. “I’ll be taking (ATP) points, self-confidence and a sense of fun to Paris, it’s simply a great feeling,” said Kohlschreiber.
“It is the best feeling to win a tournament, it’s not an opportunity that comes along very often.” Kohlschreiber, seeded 28th for Roland Garros, said. At the French Open, he will take on Spain’s Pere Riba, ranked 85th in the world, in the opening round.
